"Alice Walker tackles some of American society's most vexing issues—race, gender and violence—through a memorable protagonist named Celie. The story of her growing up as a victim of abuse and her ongoing journey of self-discovery is a brutally honest assessment of human nature at its best and worst."

"Quincy Jones was the first person who taught me what love is. It was 1985 when I first crossed paths with him, a year after I'd begun hosting A.M. Chicago. Around that time I'd read Alice Walker's The Color Purple, and when I heard the book was being made into a film, I remember praying, "God, please find me a way to get into that movie!" I would have taken any role—best girl, water boy, whatever. So I know it was providence when Quincy, who was visiting Chicago, flipped through the TV channels, spotted me, and believed I could play the character of Sofia in a movie he was coproducing—The Color Purple."

"Alice Walker tackles some of American society's most vexing issues—race, gender and violence—through a memorable protagonist named Celie. The story of her growing up as a victim of abuse and her ongoing journey of self-discovery is a brutally honest assessment of human nature at its best and worst."

"Quincy Jones was the first person who taught me what love is. It was 1985 when I first crossed paths with him, a year after I'd begun hosting A.M. Chicago. Around that time I'd read Alice Walker's The Color Purple, and when I heard the book was being made into a film, I remember praying, "God, please find me a way to get into that movie!" I would have taken any role—best girl, water boy, whatever. So I know it was providence when Quincy, who was visiting Chicago, flipped through the TV channels, spotted me, and believed I could play the character of Sofia in a movie he was coproducing—The Color Purple."